What Do You Have To Do Today?

Excerpt from Francis Kong article . . .

There is a big difference between what is urgent and what is vital. Just because something is urgent may not mean it is important. And just because some tasks can wait does not mean it is not vital.

Effective leaders ask this one important question: “If I can accomplish only one thing today, what will it be?”

Time and tasks. Aren’t these the most important things we deal with on a daily basis yet guess how many people squander it?

Something will master and something will serve. Either you run the day or the day runs you; either you run the business or the business runs you.

Learn how to separate the majors and the minors. A lot of people don't do well simply because they major in minor things. Days are expensive. When you spend a day you have one less day to spend. So make sure you spend each one wisely.

Each day is a gift from God but we do not waste the gift and throw it away.

We make the best use of it.


E-mail: franciskong@businessmatters.org
Radio program “Business Matters” aired 8:30a.m. and 6:30 p.m. (98.7 dzFE-FM)

Patron Saint for Business Men and Women

St. Nicholas of Bari is the patron saint of seafarers, children, business men and women, students, the youth, the poor, the falsely accused, the sick and those in difficult situations.

The Feast Day is December 6.

Equipment Maintenance

From Allfoodbusiness.com

Create a calendar with the recommended maintenance dates for all parts and equipment, including monthly, quarterly, semi-annual and annual checks.

The schedule should note when air-conditioning-equipment air filters should be changed (at least quarterly), exhaust- and supply-fan bearings should be lubricated, and when thermostats on cooking and air-conditioning equipment should be calibrated.

Store Design and Layout

From Allfoodbusiness.com

Entrance:

1. An area for the hostess to take reservations with a place to store menus.

2. Cashier's area where customers may pay when exiting the restaurant.

3. Seating for customers that are waiting to be served.

Kitchen - The size needed will depend on your concept.

1. This area should have shelves for equipment, utensils and ingredients.
2. Prep tables
3. Stoves, ovens, broilers, fryers, cooking range, griddle, serving plates, ets.
4. Dish washer, dish washing sinks and cleaning supplies.

Food storage area - Walk in cooler, walk in freezer, dry food storage area with lots of shelving..

Office - Desk, file cabinet and office supplies

Employee area - An area for employees to hang their coats, and store their personal items.

Dining Room - Tables, booths, drink counter with coffee and supplies.

Location Selection

From Allfoodbusiness.com

Some important things to think about that may help your business become a success are:

Traffic : Foot and motor traffic counts and surveys are an important start. You can get traffic counts from a real estate firm, demographic firm, planning commission, or highway department. You will want to pick a location that has high traffic counts at the peak times you serve your food. One way is access this is to park at the site at different times of the day, including week-ends and get some figures for yourself.

If you are in a downtown area you will need to access the foot traffic. The type of foot traffic will also have a bearing on the concept you choose.

Visibility - Corner locations are great if access from traffic is easy. End locations are the best idea for strip malls. Free standing restaurants with lots of parking are ideal.

Signs can help your visibility, but are heavily regulated by city regulations as to the size and locations they can be put.

Downtown locations should consider using sandwich board signs or easels to put daily specials on outside to draw attention to foot traffic.

Readily Accessible Parking - This is a must, customers need to be able to find a place to park or they may consider it to be more hassle than it's worth, especially if they are in a hurry.

Writing a Business Plan

From Allfoodbusiness.com

Reasons for writing a business plan include:

• Support a loan application
• Raise equity funding
• Define and fix objectives and programs to achieve those objectives
• Create regular business review and course correction
• Define a new business
• Define agreements between partners
• Set a value on a business for sale or legal purposes
• Evaluate a new product line, promotion, or expansion

A business plan should prove that your business will generate enough revenue to cover your expenses and make a satisfactory return for bankers or investors.

1. Executive Summary--features the highlights of your plan and sells your idea in two pages or less.
2. Company Summary--a factual description of your company, ownership, and history.
3. Products (or Services or both)--describes your products and/or services and how they stand out from competitive products and services.
4. Market Analysis-provides a summary of your typical customers, competitive landscape, market size, and expected market growth.
5. Strategy and Implementation-describes how you will sell your product, how you will put your plan into action, and establishes milestones.
6. Management Summary-provides background on the management team, their experiences, and key accomplishments.
7. Financial Plan-contains key financials including sales, cash flow, and profits.

What makes a successful business plan?

• A well thought out idea
• Clear and concise writing
• A clear and logical structure
• Illustrates management's ability to make the business a success
• Shows profitability

Business Concept Selection

From Allfoodbusiness.com

Family Dining . . .
Casual Dining . . .
Fine Dining . . .
Ethnic Restaurants: Chinese, Italian, Mexican, Caribbean, English, French, German, Indian, Japanese, Korean, Mediterranean, Thai and Vietnamese.

The core menu concept is the main product line of your menu (Italian food, hamburgers, etc.) and this will define your decor, ambiance, and style of your restaurant establishment.

Restaurants are generally classified into three groups:

1. Quick Service - Also known as fast-food restaurants. They offer limited menus that are prepared quickly. They usually have drive-thru windows and take-out.

2. Midscale - They offer full meals at a medium price that customers perceive as "good value." They can be full service, buffets or limited service with customers ordering at the counter and having their food brought to them.

3. Upscale - Offer high quality cuisine at a high end price. They offer full service and have a high quality of ambience.

QSR (quick service restaurants) is a specific type of restaurant characterized both by its fast food cuisine and by minimal table service. Food served in fast food restaurants typically caters to a "meat-sweet diet" and is offered from a limited menu; is cooked in bulk in advance and kept hot; is finished and packaged to order; and is usually available ready to take away, though seating may be provided. Fast food restaurants are usually part of a restaurant chain or franchise operation, which provisions standardized ingredients and/or partially prepared foods and supplies to each restaurant through controlled supply channels.

Variations on the fast food restaurant concept include fast casual restaurants which have higher sit-in ratios, and customers can sit and have their orders brought to them.

Target Market Analysis - This will show who your main projected customer is.

Competitive Analysis - This will help you understand who your competition will be. You should compare your menu prices with your potential market competitors. Simply perform some market research by visiting these competitors and taking note of their menu prices. Use this competitive pricing analysis as a test of reasonableness to determine whether your menu and prices are in line.

The type of concept you will choose will determine the following
areas in your restaurant planning.

1. Your equipment needs.
2. Your type of table top items, such as flatware, plate ware, napkins and linens
3. Storage, cooler and freezer size
4. Employee Uniforms
5. How large of a building you will need.
6. How many employees you will need to hire.
7. Your parking lot size.
8. What type of signs and type of advertising needed.

Winning Business Concept

Formulating a Winning Restaurant Concept

By Lorri Mealey, About.com Guide

Questions to Ask

Figuring out what kind of restaurant to open will be one of the most important decisions you'll make. Once you make this decision, everything else will flow from it -- from the dining room design to what sort of menu to develop to how many people to hire.

There are a lot of things to decide on when formulating your restaurant concept. The most important questions to ask are, "What kind of restaurant would I love to eat in everyday? The concept you choose should be something you love, since you'll be giving your time, money and sweat to this enterprise.

The next question you ought to ask is, "What kind of restaurant does my area need?" Every town has restaurants, and the best way to beat the competition is to offer something a little bit different from the rest.

Instead of opening an Italian restaurant like the one down the street, think about something that your area needs. What type of restaurant do you wish were in your town? Open that restaurant.

Real Life Concept Examples

Take Will Goldfarb, for example. He's a pastry chef who wanted to open a bar that felt like people were eating in his kitchen at home. He recently opened Room 4 Dessert in Manhattan, where he assembles desserts right in front of his customers while his mixologist serves up cocktails.

Inspiration for concepts comes from within and also from trends you read about and see while traveling. There's a new market segment called Meal Assembly, for example. People who don't really want to cook, but who want to put a nice meal on the table for their family go to a commercial kitchen where all the guesswork and labor is taken out of the process. How about developing a restaurant concept that would build on this trend?

Concept Considerations

If you have your heart set on opening a lunch place where locals can order your mom's meatloaf sandwiches, then obtaining a liquor license probably doesn't make sense. Neither do white tablecloths. You probably will offer a limited menu of sandwiches, maybe some soups and a salad or two. You won't need a huge kitchen with an army of chefs. You'll need a line cook or two and a prep cook. You'll probably want to offer those delicious sandwiches for take out. Depending on your area, you may need to offer delivery. If you're catering to the downtown office crowd, you probably want to be closed at night and on the weekends.

The more formal the concept, the more complex the menu and the more people you'll need to hire. If you plan to start your restaurant on a shoestring, keep the concept simple and small to save money. Now that you're working on your concept, you'll need to fromalize a business structure and start securing financing.

Atmosphere

You should decide at the outset what kind of place you want to run. Will it have a scenic location with a great view and outside dining? Will it be a dark, romantic place for couples to dine? Will it be a casual eatery serving nearby office workers?

Knowing what kind of place you want to open at the start will save you time and money. You won't waste time looking for the wrong type of location and you won't waste money on design plans and buying the wrong type of chairs and lighting, etc.

Concept Checklist

A restaurant concept results from a combination of the following features:

1. Serve Liquor
2. Full Menu vs. Limited Menu
3. Take Out
4. Delivery
5. Catering

Concept Checklist as a Menu for Starting a Restaurant

The concept checklist contains important components of the restaurant business model. Each item on the check list will directly impact your revenue. Deciding not to serve liquor, for example, may be the right choice if you're opening a casual breakfast and lunch place, but know that it will limit your revenue and that you'll have to have that many more turns. Similarly, if you're opening a fancy upscale dinner restaurant, you may decide that delivery is not an option because your elegantly plated food will not travel well.

Use the concept checklist to decide how each items fits into your concept and business model.

Opening Your Own Business

From eHow.com

Coffee shops can attract a large variety of customers, from busy workers stopping for a quick brew on their way to the office to teenagers and students looking for a hangout. Opening your own shop can put you in competition with big names like Starbucks, Dunkin' Donuts and Seattle's Best, and there are a number of issues you have to address before you can open your café's doors.

Paperwork

One of the biggest hurdles to opening any small business is to file the necessary paperwork with local officials.

You will need a business license to open a coffee café, and different areas have different requirements for these licenses. The type of licenses you need may also vary depending on the products you want to sell. For instance, if you want to be able to sell alcoholic beverages in the café, you will need an extra alcohol permit.

You will also need to check on local zoning laws for the area in which you will start your shop. Find out exactly where the boundaries of your property are, as well as any limitations for use on the property.

You should be able to get all of the information you need regarding licenses, zoning and other legal requirements from local government offices. Some states or regions may have an office specifically set up to handle business, while others may have different divisions or offices for each license you need.

If you have trouble figuring out whom you need to see about certain paperwork, talk to local business owners in your area. They may be able to provide offices or contact information, as well as invaluable advice for getting your business started.

Business Plan

Put together a business plan for your coffee café to show to other parties who may take an interest in your business.

Business plans provide a basic outline of your business proposal for potential partners, investors, banks for loans and others who may be able to help you get started. The business plan should include details on your location, a basic outline of operations (hours, number of employees, etc.) and any ideas you have for managing the shop, including hiring and training employees and handling income and budgeting.

A business plan should also include a basic inventory for the business. List the equipment you will need to buy, the products you intend to sell (coffee, pastries, music, art, etc.) and initial pricing ideas.

The information in your business plan helps provide a general idea of what the day-to-day operations of your coffee café will entail, which helps investors, loan officers or partners decide whether they want to help you.

Advertising

Start advertising your coffee café before the doors open. Hang posters, hand out business cards and create a website for your new business. Advertise in publications that you know will reach your potential customers, such as college newspapers or local magazines.

Include advantages of your coffee shop in the advertisements: hours, products sold, any live entertainment or games you provide, as well as other areas of interest. Make sure you include your intended opening date in the advertisement, so people can stop by and see your new place.

Business Ideas and Tips

Restaurant Marketing Ideas

No wonder your restaurant team has a difficult time. There is so much to do. This is far from the complete list.

Overcoming the confusion is not so tough.

1. A simple chart can be used to show who does what and when.
2. A white board on the wall can show the game plan. The larger companies set up sophisticated manuals and software.

Each team member needs a list of what to do when. Train the restaurant team, provide the tools and remove the barriers. Support the team leaders and lead with a couple of thoughts:

1. Trust but verify.
2. Inspect what you expect.

Which of the activities on the list are the first to go when the day does not go according to plan? How soon do restaurant marketing activities get pushed off the list?

Source: Post by Michael Hartzell

Restaurant Manager

From Allfoodbusiness.com

The Manager:

Qualifications - Organized, tactful, friendly, quick-witted and calm, posses leadership skills, and an understanding of the hospitality industry.

Responsibilities - Be able to open and close the restaurant, purchase food and beverage supplies, manage the cash register, track inventory, hiring, training and firing staff; and creating work schedules and monitoring their performance, develop marketing strategies, supervise personnel and schedule your staff, resolving customers' complaints and ensuring health and safety regulations are followed, keeping employee records for hours and wages, preparing payroll and filling out paperwork for taxes, wages, employment insurance,etc., and tallying cash and charge receipts and balancing them against the record of sales.

Tips for Signages

From Allfoodbusiness.com

1. Change your sign's messages frequently.

2. Use all capital letters for your messages on reader boards and pole signs.

3. Keep the messages short, easy to read and understand by commuters passing by.

4. Do not make legally questionable claims. For example, "You will loose weight with our low calorie menu."

5. Have visibility from the direction heading toward your business.

6. Put your sign close to the road in the driver's or pedestrian's direct line of sight.

7. Put your sign in an area that would allow the viewer at least seven seconds to read the message.

8. Place your sign where there are no obstructions, such as another sign, building or shrubs and trees.

9. Keep your sign clean and if there are light bulbs, make sure none are burnt out.

10. Always Double Check Your Spelling!

Checklist for Opening a Business

Sample Checklist For Opening Your Restaurant

Entering into any business is a complicated task. There are a number of things to be taken care of. It is recommended that you should prepare a checklist for opening a restaurant. Some of the important aspects that you must cover in your checklist for opening a restaurant are provided here.

The very first thing is to prepare a proper business plan for your restaurant and decide if you would be owning the restaurant in your own name or if you would form a company in whose name the restaurant would be run. Preparation of business plan is necessary. It is something like a framework, a guiding principle according to which your restaurant would function. The role can be equated to the role of the constitution of the United States for the government of United States.

With this done, you would have to initiate the procedure to get the appropriate licenses and permissions for your restaurant. Get in touch with your local association of hoteliers and restaurateurs in this regard. They would be really helpful.

Next up you have to decide the kind of market you would target. Also the kind of cuisine you wold be serving must be decided at this point. Directly follow this by a search of location for your restaurant. Conduct some research work about the market to determine its potential as well as the competition that you may face in the said area.

Now comes the money! This is the time where big spending is about to start so you should first start by looking at options from where you can procure the loan. Most of the people would like to use their savings as the seed money. Not a really great idea! The best thing is that you should look for bank loans. First thing is that you can get a lot of money. The loan comes with insurance and you can keep your savings for the stages when your business is going through start up hiccups.

With money in your hand the premises in your occupation, your checklist should start covering things at a much more detailed scales. Yep micromanagement part has arrived. Start with purchase of equipment and recruitment of personnel. At the same time you must have a parallel checklist to cover the interior designing work that is going on in your restaurant. By this time, your licenses should have been finalized. Don't forget to collect them.

Next you have to look for suppliers of provisions and other catering and restaurant supplies. Make sure that they are reliable. Final touches to the aesthetics and development of menu must in the conclusive parts of of your checklist.

Keep in mind that these aspects of checklist for opening a restaurant are not exhaustive and you would have to add more points and details to it as you go along following it.

Garen Garson is a restaurateur with a passion for Restaurant Business done right... you're invited to: http://www.RestaurantBusinessMagic.com -check out Garen's restaurant biz website and discover restaurant marketing know-how and so much more including a ; Checklist For Opening A Restaurant.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Garen_Garson

A Season for Business Opportunities

With the Christmas season coming up, there will surely be lots of business opportunities. Start thinking through.

Most, if not all, would be in a spending mood, but with a planned budget of course.

Humilty, Even in Business

Let's heed the advise of Bo Sanchez, motivational speaker, on humility and on getting a mentor, even in business . . .

So What Is Humility?

Humility is a multi-faceted jewel.

But all these facets point to one thing: Being empty.

I believe this emptiness has three distinct expressions…

o A Humble Person is a Seeker

o A Humble Person is a Student

o A Humble Person is a Servant

1. A Humble Person Is A Seeker

I love sharing this story.

One day, a young monk visited an older monk and asked, “Master, what is the secret of humility?”

The older monk said, “Let’s take a walk…”

The two men walked down to the river.

The older monk led the younger monk in the water. When the river reached their chests, without warning, the older monk held the head of the younger monk, and dunked him into the water!

The younger monk struggled, his arms splashing wildly, but the older monk held his head under the water.

When the younger man was almost blacking out, an inch away from death, the older monk pulled him up—and the young monk sucked in air like he was an industrial vacuum cleaner.

In between breaths, he asked in a frantic voice, “Why the heck did you do that for?”

The older man smiled and said, “The secret of humility is to seek for God the way you’re seeking for oxygen now.”

I repeat: Humility is being empty.

Humility is being desperate that God fill you up.

When You Don’t Know The Solution

I know a young guy who doesn’t like Math.

So everytime he takes a Math exam, he prays a lot.

During the exam, when he knows the solution to the Math problem, he says, “Lord, this is mine. I’ll take care of this…”

But when he doesn’t know the answer, he says, “Lord, it’s your turn to solve this problem…”

I believe Life is a giant exam.

Some problems you face are easy because you know the solutions.

But sometimes, life throws you a problem you don’t know how to solve. And that’s when you pray, “Lord, it’s your turn to solve this problem…”

When you have a problem you can’t solve, you become humble. You’re forced to be empty. And empty is good.

Because you have more space for blessings.

And then the second expression of humility is being teachable…

2. A Humble Person Is A Student

Have you ever wondered?

Why is it that the biggest athletes of the world still follow coaches? Golfing wonder Tiger Woods is coached by a “swing” coach named Sean Foley. Best Boxer in the world Manny Pacquiao has a coach named Freddie Roach and a fitness coach named Alex Ariza. Tennis Champ Rafael Nadal is coached by his uncle Toni Nadal.

Think about it.

These guys are already the greatest in their sport.

You’d think that after receiving a warehouse of trophies, they already knew everything there is to know about their sport.

Right?

Wrong.

And who are those that don’t have coaches?

Those who aren’t very good.

Why?

The more you know, the more you know that you don’t know. And the more you succeed, the more humble you should be.

The day a successful person stops being humble is the day he prepares for his downfall.

Success Can Only Come From Humility

Humility is being empty.

The moment you think you’re full, there’ll be no space for anything new.

I’m reading a business book now.

The title is Seduced By Success.

It talks about how many giant companies that have tasted phenomenal success become utter failures in the next decade.

Reason? Complacency.

They get seduced by their success.

In other words?

They lost their humility.

Get A Mentor

Perhaps you can achieve some success without a mentor. But I believe you can’t achieve high-level, enduring, fantastic success without a mentor.

Look in the Bible and you’ll see mentoring.

Samuel mentored David.

Naomi mentored Ruth.

Paul mentored Timothy.

Moses mentored Joshua.

And at one point in his life, Moses was mentored by Jethro, his father-in-law.

I found this amazing.

If you’re Moses, why listen to anybody?

Especially a non-Israelite, a priest of Midian at that?

Jethro didn’t even belong to the same religion.

But that’s why the Bible calls Moses the most humble man on earth.

Moses could have said, “Jethro, how dare you give advice to me? I’m the guy who met God face-to-face in the Burning Bush. I’m the guy who carried the tablets of the Ten Commandments in his arms. I’m the guy who led the slaves out of Egypt. I’m the guy who divided the Red Sea and drowned the chariots of Pharaoh. I’m The Guy!”

But Moses said no such thing.

He was humble.

He was a student.

He was willing to learn from anyone God would send to him.

Take Your Shortcut To Success

One day, two women came up to me and asked me, “Bo, why are you so successful in different areas of your life? You’ve got a great family, your finances are doing well, and you’re so handsome and good-looking…”

I told those two women, “Thanks Mom. Thanks Sweetheart.”

Just kidding.

All my success comes from God’s Mercy.

No other reason.

And God’s Mercy sometimes comes in a form of Mentors.

I have a Mentor for every area of my life!

I have mentors for my family life. These are people with beautiful marriages. People who are fantastic parents to their kids.

I have mentors for my spiritual life. These are people who are the most loving human beings on the planet.

I have mentors for my businesses and investments. These are billionaires and multimillionaires who love God with their wealth.

I have mentors for my health. These are holistic healers who have the gift of healing.

I have mentors for my ministry work. These are bishops, priests, and pastors who lead their flock with deep love and great effectiveness.

Believe me, I can’t imagine myself going through life without mentors.

If You Don’t Have Mentors,

You Miss A Lot!

Don’t miss on a truckload of blessings.

Your marriage could be so much better if you had a Family Mentor. Your finances could be so much better if you had a Financial Mentor. Your health could be so much better if you had a Health Mentor. Your soul could be so much better if you had a Spiritual Mentor.

A humble person sees God in every person.

A humble person is slow to judge.

A humble person focuses on the strengths of each person (not on his weaknesses) and learns from those strengths.

Open Your Eyes

I believe God has already sent you Mentors.

God has pre-arranged special people in your life to inspire you, challenge you, teach you, and train you.

Some of these Mentors are right beside you. You can call them. You can have lunch with them.

Some of these Mentors aren’t beside you, but their words are available to you through books, talks, and seminars.

But many times, you don’t recognize a Mentor God has sent into our life. Perhaps because like Jethro, Mentors can come wearing a different uniform.

Goodness, some Mentors don’t even look like a Mentor.

If you’ll be empty enough and humble enough, you’ll be surprised at the Mentors God will send to you.

Here’s my point: My life is so much richer because I’ve stayed empty. And I’m willing to learn from anyone whom God sends towards my direction.

In fact, in the Bible, God used a donkey to speak His word (See Numbers 22). That’s why preachers like me should never be proud. His standards are very low!

Get A Mentor

Getting a mentor is the shortcut to success!

Come to the Feast every week and listen to God’s Word.

Read books.

Attend seminars.

Pursue friendships with wise people.

Listen to the stories of ordinary people around you.

Finally, humility has a third expression…

3. A Humble Person Is A Servant

Some people also confuse humility with low self-worth.

Hey, I’m a world-renowned expert in low self-worth.

I was afflicted with it for 20 years.

I hated myself.

I felt I was ugly, ungifted, and unlovable.

Believe me when I say this: Low self-worth has nothing to do with humility.

Low self-worth is a virus.

Humility is a virtue.

Low self-worth is thinking of yourself in a small way.

Humility is not thinking of yourself at all, period.

Why? Because you’re thinking of others more.

The Bible says, be humble towards one another, always considering others better than yourselves. (Philippians 2:3)

In other words, a humble person sees every human being as a child of God and is worthy of his service.

Humility is not only being empty.

Humility is emptying oneself by pouring ourselves to others.

I won’t elaborate this third expression of humility because this is selflessness and kindness—and we talked about this already.

May your dreams come true,

Bo Sanchez

Hang On To That Faith, Even If Mustard-Seed-Sized

To have faith is to be sure of the things we hope for, to be certain of the things we cannot see. (St. Paul)

This is true even in business.

Sure you know your goals and you focus on them, but even if they seem unachievable as long as you truly believe in them, stick to them.

Do your job well and keep your eyes open to every opportunity. Feed your passion in attaining the targets you have set. Reach out and look for people who can support you. Search for reliable mentors. Select and mold people who will be members of your team.

Everything Big Starts Small

Financial Freedom - Dream Big, Start Small

Folks are often scared of big dreams because of the belief that they have to go for it with a big bang, which is presently out of their control, and because it is out of their control, they lack the control on when to start. They depend on an external event to determine when they can go for their dreams or start their businesses. This is the reason many dreamers are yet to start their small businesses. They need "capital" and the banks are not helping, so the dream waits until a fairy godmother comes and waves a "capital" wand that will bring their dreams to life.

Everything big starts small. Most billionaires in the Forbes list started from their basement, dorm rooms etc. You don't need an office and staff to start a business, even manufacturing. You can start from home, build a client base, and finance your growth from your profits. All that is needed is for you to put on your thinking cap and scale your plans down to the level where you can start just where you are.

In your journey to financial freedom, despise not the days of small beginnings. Start with your savings as seed capital. Your biggest asset is your brain. Through creative thinking, you solve all money riddles you face on the road to growing your business. You need to think outside the box, and keep an open mind.

After having done all the market survey and feasibility studies, gain back control by scaling down your start up plan to fit your budget. This presupposes that while conceptualizing, you have been putting money away as seed capital to start your business. If you have not done so, this is the time to start. Stop depending on the banks or your rich relatives for financing. With the current financial meltdown, getting bank financing just got harder, if you think it was not hard enough before now. Don't throw away control of your business in the altar of financing. Start small. Do not be in a hurry to grow big. It will come with time.

Make a quality decision to start. Look at what stands in the way to your starting now. Scale it down or find a creative solution to it. The more control in your hands, the better for you at this stage. Grow your business at your own terms, and at your own time. You can hire or improvise rather than buy new machinery right now, until you can buy it from your turn over.

The most important thing is to believe you can start right down. With that frame of mind, your subconscious mind will provide the solutions as to how you can scale down and start from your home. Take baby steps, one step at a time. After months and years of warming up to start, take a bold step and just do it.

The beauty of small beginnings is that you make small mistakes which are easy to correct and inexpensive to fix. As you master on step, you gain boldness to take a bigger step. By the time you really need more money to expand, you would have accumulated the money yourself, and gained experience in deploying the capital to maximum effect without experiment.

The funny thing is, by the time you become good at what you are doing, the banks are now ready to lend you a helping hand. Only at this time, you do not need much help anymore.

Do not scale down your dreams. Scale down your start up plans. Dream big, start small.

Usiere Uko is an author, motivational speaker, entrepreneur and webmaster of http://www.financialfreedominspiration.com, an inspirational blog of discovering your passion and fulfilling your God given dreams. Visit his site and get inspired to start your journey to financial freedom today.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Usiere_N_Uko

Business Quotes

From Warren Buffet, Berkshire Hathaway's Billionaire Chairman :



You only have to do a very few things right in your life
so long as you don't do too many things wrong.

Someone's sitting in the shade today because
someone planted a tree a long time ago.

I don't look to jump over 7-foot bars:
I look around for 1-foot bars that I can step over.

It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it.
If you think about that, you'll do things differently.

It's better to hang out with people better than you.
Pick out associates whose behavior is better than yours
and you'll drift in that direction.

Of the billionaires I have known, money just brings out the basic traits in them.
If they were jerks before they had money, they are simply jerks with a billion dollars.

Business Affair

Tips from Francisco Lapid and Efren Sotto, from their book "21 Steps on How to Start your own Business":

In our GoNegosyo caravans, we always tell people that there are several RINGS to a business relationship (like marriage):

Business is a LOVE AFFAIR:

Engagement Ring = You court your idea

Wedding Ring = You commit to your idea and a baby business is born

Suffe-Ring = You take the ups and downs of commitment / marriage

Endu-Ring = You make do and hope for the best, 'til death do you part

God's Everlasting Offe-Ring

Leadership Attributes even for Employees

Entrepreneurial leaders have some specific leadership attributes. Entrepreneurial leadership is leadership that is based on the attitude that the leader is self-employed. Leaders of this type:

• take initiative and act as if they are playing a critical role in the organization rather than a mostly important one and energize their people,
• demonstrate entrepreneurial creativity, search continuously for new opportunities and pursue them,
• take risk, venture into new areas and provide strategic direction and inspiration to their people,
• take responsibility for the failures of their team, learn from these failures and use them as a step to ultimate success and strategic achievement.

Entrepreneurial leadership involves instilling the confidence to think, behave and act with entrepreneurship in the interests of fully realizing the intended purpose of the organization to the beneficial growth of all stakeholders involved.

Source: Vadim Kotelnikov

Discover Your Passion, Turn It Into Business

I've come to believe that each of us has a personal calling that's as unique as a fingerprint - and that the best way to succeed is to discover what you love and then find a way to offer it to others in the form of service, working hard, and also allowing the energy of the universe to lead you. - Oprah Winfrey

Came across some ideas from Jennifer Schiff . . .

Tips for turning your hobby into a business:

1. Really ask yourself, "Is this something I really enjoy doing and can sustain, or am I just swept up in the latest craze?
2. If you think your passion or hobby still has potential as a business, try to find out if lots of other people are doing it - who or what the competition is. What is it about your offerings that are unique or hard to find? Is this something people really want?

3. If you are planning on selling online, make sure you have enough money to invest in creating and maintaining a decent e-commerce site - and make sure your site is being picked up by the major search engines (which may require some advertising).

4. Remember, the customer is king (or queen). Don't underestimate the power of customer service or how a lack of customer service can cost you sales.

5. Network with other hobbyists or dealers.

6. Have fun. Once you lose your passion or drive, what made you go into this in the first place, you're going to lose business.

Turning a hobby or passion into a business:

You have to be honest with your customer. You have to sell a product that has value. You have to offer customer service. You have to be fair."

You've also got to have heart.

Heart + Dedication = A Successful Business

So How Do You Make Money?

"There are a lot of different ways (to make money)," says Walter. "One is if you find a niche market. There's nothing special about the coin business. It's like any other industry out there. You have to find items that somebody else wants to buy. Or you have to find an item and tell people why they should buy it. All you have to do is find that niche."

You also have to really know your business - and how much people are willing to pay.

The Secret to Success

The secret to Sam Sloat Coins' success, says Walter, "Is that we try to treat people the way that we'd like to be treated ourselves. We've never pretended to be the lowest priced store. We've never pretended to be the highest buyer. We've always given everybody a fair deal, a fair shake. We always take time with our customers. We try to make sure they're getting the right item. It really just comes down to customer service - whether it's in our store, on the telephone, or on the Internet."

Jennifer Lonoff Schiff (www.schiffandschiff.com) writes about business and technology and is a contributor to ECommerce-Guide.com.

Clear Debts

Source : http://simplestepstoriches.blogspot.com/

This is my friend's post in his blog "Be Wealthy: Simple Steps to True Riches", where I found an interesting topic, being debt-free. You may want to check it out.

Getting Out of Debt
By: Benj Santiago

If there is any school that would grant us PhD in Debt Management, I think we would qualify and even get a Suma Cum Laude for it. Thus, I assure you, we know what we are talking about when we say getting out of the Debt Trap can be done.

You see, both me and my wife Fely are earning good with salary of 6 figures . However, we were really not keen in managing our finances prior to our IMG enlightenment. Thus, our debts and loans from our many credit cards and different loaning facility runs to more than 7 figures.

Now, do I get your attention?

This problem of living on borrowed money or debts affects so many millions of lives or perhaps billions world wide. In the latest blog I read about Philippines Credit Card debts, it runs more than 120Billions of Pesos. I am sure you who is reading this blog right now has some contributions to this enormous debt plaguing our society.

Mind you, this is not isolated to the poor sector of society. This engulfs even those in the higher income bracket of our country. My relatives abroad are not spared from this. I am sure you do hear the same stories from your relatives abroad.

Loans and Debts makes people do things that lead them to more problems. Some even resort to taking their own lives to escape the grip of debt... passing their problems to those they leave behind.

However, solution to this perennial issue just require a plan.

The first step is to STOP BORROWING. You need to define a firm start date of when you will put an end to borrowing. The best start date is NOW!

Second step is to list all the existing loans you have and line it up with the amounts and interest the loans has. For example:

1. Citibank 100K 3.5%/month
2. Housing Loan 600K 1%/month
3. Coop Loan 150K 0.75%/month

Then, define when you will pay off these loans prioritizing payments to the one which has the greatest interest.

You may even resort to transferring all your loans to the one that gives you the least interest payments.

Do not fall into the trap of loans re-structuring to lengthen payments as this means you are prolonging your loans and enabling the loaning institution to continue to charge you with more interest.

Plan to pay more than what the required minimum payment is.

Pay off whatever extra money you have from your emergency funds. Bonus and 13th month pay must be allocated for your debt payments.

When your cash in-flow increase, make sure you use it to plug into the high interest paying debts.

As you do this plan, make sure you keep yourself in the company of people with the same desire and discipline.

Following these simple steps, we were freed from the bondage of debts and are now debt free! I'm sure you can do the same.

Improve Communications, Improve Influence

Source: freetrainingfilms
Note: Earphones needed.

Some key points from the video:

1. improve your influence with others using language, whether you are a business leader or just someone who wants to improve communications with colleages
2. improve communication in business and professional life, give more thought on the desired outcome of your communication
3. sarcastic comments can cause embarrassment
4. what is important is what the receiver gets, his interpretation of the message
   
5. for verbal language, it is 7 % word, 38 % emotional tone and 55 % body language, including facial expression, that is the power of body language
   
6. check your posture and gestures
7. think of someone who is decisive, get a clear image of his nodding, tilting of head, hand pointing, etc.
8. adopt your own style through mirroring of an effective communicator

Factors for a Successful Project

A project must have the following to be successful:

1. Agreement among the project stakeholders – the team, customer, and management – on the goals of the project.
2. A plan that demonstrates what is possible, shows an overall path and clear responsibilities, contains the details for estimating the people, money, time, equipment, and materials necessary to get the job done, and will be used to measure progress during the project and act as an early warning system.
3. Constant, effective communication among everyone involved in the project in order to coordinate action, recognize and solve problems, and react to changes.
4. A controlled scope, or "stakeholder expectations management", to ensure that everyone involved understands exactly what can be accomplished within a given time frame and budget; a systematic method for establishing realistic goals for deliverables, cost, schedule, and quality, as well as techniques for keeping the goals consistent throughout the project.
5. Upper management support, "managing upward", guiding the upper managers toward timely decisions that keep the project moving – to supply people and other resources, make policy decisions, or remove organizational obstacles.

Source: Eric Verzuh

Where To Get Plan B

This short presentation (won't take much of your time, just a few minutes) opens up one's mind especially for those who are to take the next significant step in their lives. Take a peek as you make your choice whether to seek employment, pursue further studies or put up a new business.
Garr Reynolds gives a taste of Dan Pink's book contents.

Career Advice '08

View more documents from garr.

Where to Invest Now

I am becoming a fan of Mr. Joey Concepcion. He is the Chairman and CEO of RFM Corporation. He is also the Presidential Consultant for Entrepreneurship and the President of the Philippine Center for Entrepreneurship.

Here's some good advise from him:

"There are always better ways to do your business and bring it to its higher level. Trial and error could be one but if you could spend some time to learn the lessons from those who already made same mistakes in your industry, then you don’t have to experience the same fate. One of the keys is research. Identify what works and what doesn’t work. You also need to pay attention to details. Details are very important to succeed. Business planning is an important part also, but the greater challenge is the implementation of it. So it should be two: you plan well and you do the plan well."

"Your choice, passion, determination and vision will elevate your business. Success in any endeavor is always personal. And I can only give you inspiration and some knowledge and information."

For me, I have started investing on research time, building the necessary knowledge and experience to continue in the successful journey of my small business during these trying times. It helps to keep abreast on what's new, that is, what's the upcoming trend that may affect business and what's old, those that worked in the past. Mr. Concepcion's sharing and book series do help for they are practical, experience-based and tested.

Faith Words

Faith Words you can speak them everyday for financial blessings, according to Bo Sanchez, preacher, motivational speaker and a successful businessman:

“I’m rich and getting richer. I’m generous and getting more generous. God’s abundance is supplying my every need. Everything I touch prospers and succeeds. New doors will open before me. The right people will walk into my life. God will prosper the work of my hands. As I use my core gifts to serve others, I will be richly rewarded.”

Entrepreneurship in the Eyes of the Experts

Single sentence ideas . . .

"Entrepreneurship is the best poverty alleviation and social equalizer available to anyone."
Dr. Alejandro J. Ferreria
Entreprenuer, Entrepreneur Guru

"Entrepreneurship is the backbone of every nation's economy."
Mariano "Jun" S. Manas, Jr.
President, M & H Food Corporation,
Owner, Franchiser, Hen Lin

"If our intention to liberate more Filipinos out of poverty and expand the middle class, we truly have to inspire our people to develop an entrepreneurial spirit."
Professor Nelia Cruz-Sarcol
Founder, President, CIE Global Colleges

"Today, we need to go into modest business ventures in a big way, to cushion the impact of the global economic crisis that threatens our people."
Cerge Remonde,
Press Secretary

"It is not too late to start a new business, tweak a couple of procedures or a process, or diversify into an emerging product or service."
Secretary Ace Durano
Department of Tourism

Reference: GoNegosyo series of books by Joey Concepcion

Truly Rich

It’s Not The Money—It’s Who You Become
Because You Earned The Money
Bo Sanchez

Imagine that you’re 18 years old.
And one morning, an Angel appears in front of you.
And the Angel says, “I’ll give you a gift. You have a choice.” The Angel hands over a scroll to you.
With trembling fingers, you open it. On the parchment, you read the following text…

Please Choose One Gift:

Gift 1: Ten million pesos will appear on your lap right now.

Or…

Gift 2: You’ll learn how to earn money. On the first two years, you earn nothing. Zero. But on your third year of learning, you earn P100,000. After that, your profit increases by 20% every year.

Now tell me, what would you choose?
Believe me, it’s so tempting to choose Gift 1.
Because you can buy whatever you want.
P10M is so much more than P100,000.
But don’t be deceived.
Gift 1 is cold cash. Nothing else.
Gift 2 is wisdom, character growth, skill development, increased self-esteem, strong relationships, and yes, money too. (When you reach 50, you’re earning P23M a year. Not a bad choice, right?)
Gift 1 (P10M) can disappear in a few years. Not only that, but money without wisdom is toxic. It can kill people and break-up families.
Gift 2 will last your entire lifetime.

Always Choose Wisdom More Than Money

I’d like to personally invite you to join me for my How To Be Truly Rich Seminar on February 6. I’m positive it will change your financial life.
Why? Because through my Seminar, you’ll gain wisdom. Money is fleeting. Wisdom will stay with you forever.
Change your finances this 2010 by increasing your financial wisdom.
Join Bo Sanchez on February 6.
For more information, click on at the link below.
Tell me more about the How To Be Truly Rich Seminar.

Create a Great Year for Business

Before we can do anything to make a cool year ahead, set a positive mindset and go through a solid goal-setting session. If your goals are clear, it will program your mind to think of ways and means to reach your meaningful goals, thus attracting and creating opportunities.

Let's all claim it will be a great 2010. Choose to be happy in the midst of about anything. Keep on praying though.

Believe that you’ll have a super blessed year! This is the advise of Bo Sanchez, a motivational speaker and a preacher in blue jeans.